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A few ears ago I bought an oceanfront property that was initially listed about 30% below market. I went into bidding fully expecting there be a bidding war. I told my agent to go in at asking, but gave her authority to top it up to 150% of asking.
As it turned out, my initial bid matching the asking price came back ACCEPTED! I literally flipped off the chair when the news arrived. The property became the crown jewel of my collection I'm sure.
I had always attributed my success in that deal to luck and quick action. But now that I think back, listing photos not showing the most valuable asset of that property -- a stretch of CA's sand beach -- was probably a bigger reason, since it moderated competition.
Why did they not do that? Maybe seller was too old to hike 150' down the hill to the beach and agent could not do it in heels. I don't know. But if I ever want to sell the property, which I have no intention to because I'm gonna be buried there, you bet I will be taking the most stunning beach photos to reveal its true value.
But I really like the selling agent. She is such nice person; we became friends and she represented me to bid on another property later.
That was the fault of the listing agent.
Certainly don't need professional photographs to show the beauty of a sandy beach.
Pre Covid I used listing to narrow down to the homes I wanted to see. Now its even more so a digit screening game. The biggest issues I see in listing photos are inadequate lighting, failure to show the rooms from multiple angles so a looker can figure out the floor plan as well as see the entire property features online. I would add a floor plan with actual measurements would help as well. I say shifting part of the revenue from a transaction to a photographer and plan drawer would make sense for a buyer like me
A few ears ago I bought an oceanfront property that was initially listed about 30% below market. I went into bidding fully expecting there be a bidding war. I told my agent to go in at asking, but gave her authority to top it up to 150% of asking.
As it turned out, my initial bid matching the asking price came back ACCEPTED! I literally flipped off the chair when the news arrived. The property became the crown jewel of my collection I'm sure.
I had always attributed my success in that deal to luck and quick action. But now that I think back, listing photos not showing the most valuable asset of that property -- a stretch of CA's sand beach -- was probably a bigger reason, since it moderated competition.
Why did they not do that? Maybe seller was too old to hike 150' down the hill to the beach and agent could not do it in heels. I don't know. But if I ever want to sell the property, which I have no intention to because I'm gonna be buried there, you bet I will be taking the most stunning beach photos to reveal its true value.
But I really like the selling agent. She is such nice person; we became friends and she represented me to bid on another property later.
One thing I don't quite understand is not done more often, is a video that walks through the house in the best flow. Start at the front door, walk the viewer throughout the house, to get a better feel of how the layout is set up.
I can look at a ton of nice photos, but have no idea how each room relate to the next. It would be much nicer to have a video that actually walks you through the house from entrance to office to the bedrooms to the kitchen.
Layout is so important to buyers, a video would help a ton.
I agree. My favorite listings are the ones that include those Matterport (I think it's called) 3D tours. I always start my "tour" at the front door to get the feel of the layout/flow. Some I've seen even have extras that allow you to click on a window and look outside -- very cool & helpful.
And for those listings with no such 3D tour, I have a hard time with ones where the photos jump around and back again from room to room and floor to floor. I'm reasonably sure I've missed out on some homes that would've been contenders for us because the photos left me frustrated (and I'm pretty patient).
No ladder, just a dirt trail, which at the time of the sale was overgrown. Trail can be completely covered by vegetation in a couple of seasons if not maintained.
I just checked my archive; the original zillow ad had 16 pictures, 13 focused on interior/exterior of the house. The ocean is visible in most of them (thru windows, doors, background, etc) but is not the featured. The remaining 3 all show the broad ocean view, with just a small section of sand beach shown. Definitely not the most compelling picture presentation and did not focus on the true asset. I did not care about the house at all.
And I now recall, I was so unclear from the ad as to whether this property included the beach, I had to specifically asked to see the deed filed with the county to verify that the boundary indeed reaches water's edge. It was then that I was certain the property is worth 150% of the asking, maybe more but that's all I could afford to pay.
A lot of learning for me from this transaction. From listing to striking a deal 2 months; another month to close. All done sight unseen! (because I was working overseas at the time.)
No ladder, just a dirt trail, which at the time of the sale was overgrown. Trail can be completely covered by vegetation in a couple of seasons if not maintained.
I just checked my archive; the original zillow ad had 16 pictures, 13 focused on interior/exterior of the house. The ocean is visible in most of them (thru windows, doors, background, etc) but is not the featured. The remaining 3 all show the broad ocean view, with just a small section of sand beach shown. Definitely not the most compelling picture presentation and did not focus on the true asset. I did not care about the house at all.
And I now recall, I was so unclear from the ad as to whether this property included the beach, I had to specifically asked to see the deed filed with the county to verify that the boundary indeed reaches water's edge. It was then that I was certain the property is worth 150% of the asking, maybe more but that's all I could afford to pay.
A lot of learning for me from this transaction. From listing to striking a deal 2 months; another month to close. All done sight unseen! (because I was working overseas at the time.)
Working in Pacific Rim/Asia right?
And you asked about a ladder or how you could find like 30' "beams" as you called them so your aged parents could visit the beach. And the greenhouse project?
I agree. My favorite listings are the ones that include those Matterport (I think it's called) 3D tours. I always start my "tour" at the front door to get the feel of the layout/flow. Some I've seen even have extras that allow you to click on a window and look outside -- very cool & helpful.
And for those listings with no such 3D tour, I have a hard time with ones where the photos jump around and back again from room to room and floor to floor. I'm reasonably sure I've missed out on some homes that would've been contenders for us because the photos left me frustrated (and I'm pretty patient).
I share that frustration. I've been looking for a property with pond for about a year, and I find that:
1. When I search zillow with "pond" as a keyword, 70-80% of the results have no pond. (I have wrote to Zillow before about this, but naturally the message went into a black hole)
2. Among those with pond, most don't have too many pictures featuring the pond.
3. Among those photos that do feature the pond, majority really don't bring out the true quality of the pond.
After I identify a property I often I have to use other tools like Google satellite image, street view, nearby house listings' pictures, even county documents to get a better understanding of it. It IS very draining and frustrating, especially the initial step discovering a true target.
I share that frustration. I've been looking for a property with pond for about a year, and I find that:
1. When I search zillow with "pond" as a keyword, 70-80% of the results have no pond. (I have wrote to Zillow before about this, but naturally the message went into a black hole)
2. Among those with pond, most don't have too many pictures featuring the pond.
3. Among those photos that do feature the pond, majority really don't bring out the true quality of the pond.
After I identify a property I often I have to use other tools like Google satellite image, street view, nearby house listings' pictures, even county documents to get a better understanding of it. It IS very draining and frustrating, especially the initial step discovering a true target.
I'm currently looking for property with a pond also. The definition varies greatly, and most real estate websites are not clear about any kind of property with water that isn't beachfront. But it's not a photo problem.
Your best bet is to get an agent who knows the area very well, but it doesn't sound like you are choosy about location. That's only going to make your task harder.
We have now entered the not-so-humblebrag phase of the thread.
Only truly clueless person would need artistic photos to prove that a property is oceanfront.
"Artistic" pictures as you put it is to increase appeal and generate interest.
Whether a property fronts the ocean or simply has ocean view is a separate question, and a serious one that makes a major difference in pricing. It needs to be researched on to confirm.
In the below example, the 803K property has direct ocean view and fronts the beach. It looks just like an oceanfront home, but in reality it does not own the beach. So this one only has ocean view.
If it owns a section of the beach, it can command maybe another 300K in value.
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